My happiness project

My daily working routine includes stumbling around the internet, researching various off the cuff comments, words, tad bits of nutrition information that has crossed my auditory path. On some days, I find gems of information that inspire me and take me down a rabbit hole. Burying myself in information I search and search until I am satisfied, I have learn enough about the subject to pass on useful information to clients and implementation into my own life.  The happiness project was one of those rare finds you want to embrace and tell the world about.  

Fundamentally The happiness project is a book written by a women Gretchen Rubin. The Arthur is a  typical working woman. She has a nice family, loving husband and you can say she is ultimately happy. However as she puts it, she feels happy and blessed, however feels she could be happier. She wanted to hit her top happiness threshold, if there was such a thing?

I absolutely loved this idea!

You see just like Gretchen, I’ve had a lot of successes. I come from a loving family, financial security, I have a close circle of friends and a cute doggie I adore . I appreciate, everything I have. On some days though, I stand staring  at the view thinking... is this what I’m supposed to be doing? Am I really THAT happy? 

As the writer suggests happiness is partly genetically determined, it’s true some people are capable of being more happy that others. This is also based on personality and social upbringing. However we can still work on being more happy and hit our happiness threshold. 

I might just note here, when I am talking about this type of happiness and reaching maximum threshold,  I am addressing the happiness we feel after all our basic needs have been met. Our basic needs are having enough food to eat, feeling like we have a secure place to live, we feel safe in our environment and little financial worries. I would argue that ultimate happiness can not really be achieved if the basic needs are not met. 

This is the happiness level of modern life. We have everything YET some how we feel slightly dissatisfied. How is that even possible?

Well very easily

Primarily because people take things for granted and do not appreciate things. However if your like me and do practice gratitude then we must realise that happiness exists along a continuum.  We can be happy in retrospect, but not as elated in the present moment when we are experiencing something. Take for example when I do my crazy sporting events like Tough Mudder or even the half marathon.  Whilst I am running the only thing I am thinking about is how much its hurting and where is that blasted  finish line! I am not running along thinking how wonderful it to have woken up at 5am to run, in pain amongst thousands of crazy people. I would say during the event, I'm hating it. Ask me if I would do it again HELL NO! 

However..

The happiness that I feel occurs days after I finished the race. The muscular pain subsides and I’ve been able to brag to a few people, THEN  I sit back and think “I can’t believe, I did that?!”. The happiness comes from the feeling of accomplishment, well after the event itself. Ask me again about reentering next year and I change my tune. With a massive smile on my face I say HELL YEAH! That my friends is the crazy thing about being human haha

The take home message is that even though you may be generally content, you may not feel happy and content until well after you realized you are happy. Feelings of elation are far from few on a whole. 

This is partly because we become immune to “happy things” meaning, what made us happy before, may make us happy again but on a slightly diluted scale. We get used to it or I guess  on a part we take it for grated. 

There’s another thing you have to realize to, what makes you happy, may not necessarily make me happy.  

Happiness is subjective

This is a fair call, I could never understand how men get so much joy out of fixing and polishing their cars. Let me going shopping and I am in prime happiness, on a most part shopping would be a mans nightmare!

Gretchen in her wisdom, decides to come up with her 12 commandments of what she feels would make her happier in her life. She focuses on implementing one commandment per month for a year. With the hope that in a years time, she will have more memorable happy moments, and feel better day to day. I guess in a way give her life more meaning, by being more pleasant to the people she loves. 

Now 12 is a bit much, to be honest I had trouble coming up with just 5. So I urge you to come up with your own set of commandments and tackle them month by month. Remember though this is your happiness, no one else's. Commandments aren’t there to change anyone, they are solely based on your actions alone. Your happiness can’t be enhanced by asking someone to change their behavior, you need to change your mind set or your own behavior to feel better. 

So here it goes..

My 5 commandments:

Spend less money and save 

• Wear all the clothes I have. Plan outfits at the start of the week taking my time to try on and make up new combinations, so when I wear my outfits I feel brand new without having to buy new clothes all the time
• Drive safer to avoid speeding fines and parking fines. This may mean giving more time to commute and park rather than mucking around at home getting dressed. 

Go to bed earlier 

• Set my alarm clock to go off at 10pm. Turn off the lights and kick the dog out of the room
• Avoid checking my phone, reading Facebook posts
• Finish my house work on the weekends, so I don’t get stuck doing it late at night

Build stronger social connections

• Call my friends more often instead of texting. 
• Arrange to visit my family friends at least once a month
• Remember birthdays (This is my worst, I’ve been told off by friends on numerous occasions for forgetting their birthdays)
• Invite people out when I am heading out on the weekends instead of going solo
• Organize workouts to catch up with my crazy fitness friends. 
• Give people chances to explain themselves rather that cutting them out of my circle because I am hurt

Be cautious about the people I let into my life

• Introduce people into my life in short bouts initially to ascertain weather they are good for me to spend time with 
• Evaluate situations faster, and stick to actions in line with gut feelings 

Learn to just leave it alone

• Know that I can’t finish doing every thing in such a short period of time
• Learn to say no, or that I need more time
• Set boundaries with people
• Turn off the computer and try again the following day
• Pick your battles wisely, leave debating for the professional space not online on Facebook or twitter

What I also found useful is in the book Gretchen makes a list of helpful phases she learnt as an adult. This I found extremely useful, especially when your in the wrong head space. when your feeling alone, defeated, jealous or angry. On different occasions throughout my life each one of these phrases has helped me radically accept situations or build confidence to carry on. Do you have any phrases you use? Please share them with us :)

10 Things I have learn’t as an adult

1. Attractiveness is not what your wearing, it’s you, so smile!
2. Smiles are interpreted positively all over the world, they help you make friends 
3. People are autonomous creatures don’t try to control them, accept and let be
4. Your love can’t be bought, people have to act and show they care. If they don’t they don’t deserve you
5. Fear of weight gain is unfounded if you build healthy behaviors and have the knowledge to change things 
6. Your standards are not everyone else's standards
7. Act ethically and on your morals, don’t sell your soul
8. Every thing tastes so much better when your hungry
9. When you stare into your wardrobe full of clothes it makes you feel guilty, other people have far less than you, don’t complain you have nothing to wear. 
10. You can’t choose your family, they choose you. Shut up and walk away

So there is it

The secretes to how I cope with life! The idea is that the things you learnt as an adult should be a tool that helps you achieve your commandants. So I urge you to make a list of things that will make you happy, but not material things. You know why?

Material things make you some what happy for a few brief moments. Your interaction with others, accomplishing and changing behaviors will keep you happy forever. 

What’s on your list?

Preparing for a half marathon in 3 weeks

                                                                                  Looking fresh at the start 

Do you remember 3 weeks ago I made a pledge, a pledge to complete a half marathon? Well my fellow readers, the challenge was set and smashed out of the water!

I did it... YES I DID IT!

I am a very proud to say, that even though I am not the biggest fan of running, I managed to do a whole 21km and I did not stop. I’ve said it once and ill say it again, fun runs just aren’t fun! Haha

Here are the stats:

•  Average pace 5.45min/km
• 120min exact to complete 21km (This was the average speed)
• Top 33% of the 4000 runners

It’s now Monday and the DOM’S is killing me. I had to lift my legs out of the bed with my arms because I feel like they had been run over 100x by a truck. I concluded that sitting on my butt all day in my office doing work is probably the best and most productive lifestyle choice today.

                                                                                                        The crowd 

My training tips

Do what I say, not what I did! Granted my challenge was a bit insane preparing for a half in just under 3weeks. It is not one of the best training schedules I’ve ever advocate. I ran 2x sessions a week of 9km. I clocked over about a 5.30min per km on average during training.

 I ran solo and with friends concentrating on maintaining pace. The training track contained short steep hills, as well as long inclines which is a good mix for leg conditioning. It got me through 21km, but I am so sore, probably a tad bit too sore. If I trained a little better, I wouldn’t be whining so much today.

                                                                                            I finished the race 

What you SHOULD do

Give yourself more time! At least 2-3 months prior to the race start by running 2x short (5-7km) and 1 long session per week (9-15km). The short sessions will help you build fitness and speed. The longer distances will help you to train to maintain a constant pace and endurance. The key is to build it up over time to allow your joints to build strength, preventing injury and of course build mental strength. Include short and long hills to help you prepare for the race day, rarely are courses flat. Hills allow you to build muscular power and develop higher fitness levels.

You might try something like this:

Weeks 1-2:  2 sessions 5km, 1 session 9km

Weeks 3-4: 2 sessions 6km, 1 session 11km

Weeks 5: 1 session 6km, 1 session 9km, 1 session 15km

Weeks 6-7:  2 sessions 9km, 1 session 17km

Weeks 8-9: 2 sessions 7km, 1 session 21km (Trial your sports gels)

Weeks 10: 2 sessions 9km, 1 session 12km

Week 11: 5 days prior to race: 1 session 5km (Taper)

4 days prior to race: No training

Leaving your heaviest loads to weeks 6-9 gives you leeway should any injuries start to develop. It gives you at least 3 weeks to recover. In addition to this the program tapers to allow adequate muscle recovery but not a reduction in fitness. The idea is that your fitness remains high, and fatigue low. Don’t be scared to not train at all 1 week prior to the race.

What about nutrition?

Nutrition is very important to maintain high speeds during the race. Nothing worse than starting the race full speed and dying out to walk half way due to fatigue. Walking is not an option!

Like my good friend says "Stopping is loser talk" haha 

So here’s the formulae 1g/kg/BW pre race (Breakfast). Additional 20g of carbs every 30min you run after 10km mark. Don’t forget hydration approx. 1L for every hour. These are general guides of course they vary between individuals. Particularly for males you will need more. If you need help come to see me at the office, I can work out an exact plan for you.

This is what I did

Breakfast (90g carb)

2 x raisin toast with scraping of Nutella, 1 cup skim milk + ( 500ml Gatorade 10min before racing)

During the race (Total 52g carb)

 9km (30g carb) -1 gel shot (20g only consumed) +  150ml Gatorade  

12km (11g carb) - 150ml Gatorade 

15km- 150ml water

18km (11g carb) -150ml Gatorade 

My nutrition was adequate to get me through, after all it was only 21km and not a full marathon. In the full marathon scenario you would need to also focus on sodium intake. Currently this information has mainly centered around carbs, however sodium/hydration would be a limiting factor in longer events. 

 Sodium plays a huge role in muscle cramping and hydration. Both of which is not done right can cause you to severely loose speed.  If you were competing at longer distances, and faster speeds you probably want to tighten this up properly.

                                                                   Osito is a winner at sleeping haha

Hope this helps?

Should you be looking for a fitness challenge a half marathon is defiantly the way to go. You can then have your fun and eat your cake too! Running 21km burns upwards of 2000kcal.  So my treat post race was: fish and chips at Sydney’s fish market and apple pie with ice cream at home  in celebration. I haven’t had chips in years, or that food combination in one day!

Did you do the half marathon this past weekend? How did you go?

Drifty genes and intermittent fasting

The cause of obesity is the high light of major debates amongst health professionals at every meeting or conference. There are many theories, some blame carbs (Paleo followers), others blame lack of good fats demonising the “low fat” 80’s push. Geneticist’s say it’s our gene’s. Due to natural selection the fat gene thrived and the skinny gene is slowly dying out. Fat not fit these days’ works in evolutionary terms.  Others sit on the fence and say simply the cause is multi factorial. 

Although I hate to be a fence sitter, I would agree it is multi factorial. As in the causes are a combination of lack of activity, too many carbs, particularly processed, not enough greens, social upbringing, education levels and of course genes.  As you can see there are a lot of things to address before we start fighting fat effectively on a population scale. 

Today however I would like to dispel one theory and high light another that has recently made the spot light. Trudging through a few interesting studies I came across this week, there are two that really impressed me, so I’d like to share this with you. 

Introducing the "Thrifty" gene

In 1962 Geneticist James Neel hypothesised that the cause of the Type 2 diabetes and obesity epidemic was due to “thrifty” genes. The general idea is that in our evolutionary history genes that promoted high levels of fat stores would have been advantageous. It is thought due to the nature of food availability, there would have been periods of feast and famine. Times of famine have also been traced to early agricultural times too. 

Acquiring more fat during times of feast would mean that during a famine these people would survive longer because fat store would carry them through. Fatness means you would not die of starvation. Fat gene holders would procreate and continue passing on fat genes to off spring and hence that’s why where all getting fatter. This is where the new diet craze intermittent fasting diets (IF) has its roots. 

The (IF) theory is that throughout evolution we held onto genes that are used feast and famine. In order to keep our bodies in check we need to replicate what occurred back then.  (IF) based diets generally tell you to fast from any where up to 1-3 days. Followed by either eating what ever you like (feast mode) or calorie controlled intake for weight maintenance. (IF) diet’s however have been used for weight loss programs, so even though the theory seems great it doesn’t correlate well with the  “Thrifty gene” hypothesis. (IF) favours genes that respond well to the feast and famine scenario to lose weight and weight maintenance. Where as the thrifty gene says inevitably we will and need to get fat in between famine to survive.  Mind you famine is not defined by 1-3 days of fasting, its more so months of reduced food supply. 

The thrifty gene theory seems very probable. Basically we are being told that we are genetically pretty screwed up... or are we?

So this is where I introduce the very interesting study by JR Speakman proposing the “Drifty gene” alternative hypothesis. Speakman is quite ingenious in the way that he proves that the thrifty gene is merely but a flawed theory. He concludes that at the rate in which a dominant gene would pass through generations, at the 16500 generation mark 99% of the population would have the gene. Since the beginning of modern man we are now at 100,000- 70,000 generation. This mean we should all be fat! 

As you know only 20-30% of the American population are fat, and there is also extensive research to show there are also individuals who are immune to fatness. Just look around you to those ultra skinny people that can just eat anything they like and still stay as thin as a rake! 

Besides gene calculation the truth to the matter is famines historically occurred only once every decade. People did not die from starvation they died from infection due to poor water supplies, hygiene and eating unhygienic food due to food scarcity. Deaths were not immune to fat or thin people either, in fact it was a mix of both. 

In addition to this if the thrifty gene where true then in between famines we would all inevitably all fatten up during that decade till another famine occurred. This is clearly not the case as we know obesity has only been an issue in the past 50years, not the entire length of human evolution. 

A more probable explanation of the genetics behind obesity is the new theory on drifty genes.  In cave man times natural selection favoured those humans who could run fast, run away from animal predators those who could travel long distances hunting or food foraging. I believe if you did get a little plump due to fat genes, you may trouble doing this and would be lion’s dinner in no time!

So the drifty gene hypothesis suggests due to lack of disease, famine, or predators we have no natural selection processes. This means genes aren’t being selected. Fat and thin genes are being pasted down the generations. Instead of selected genes, they are drifting due to lack of selection pressures. 

Why does this cause a problem with obesity?

It doesn’t. Genes don’t determine obesity, they can make you prone to it but they don’t cause it. It is believed that in the thinness quest, fat genes it only accounts for 5% of your ability to lose weight. I know what you’re saying, 5% is significant. Agreed it is, but the most important question is what are you doing with the other 95% to make a difference?  

There is a lot you can do, and it’s not intermittent fasting! 

The problem with the fasting scenario is, say you do have the “fat” gene. It will fire up the fat gene processes. Yes you will lose weight on the fasting days, but then you will prime your body to up scale fat storing processes. You will become more efficient at storing energy, you will promote more fatness. So according to the obesity figures (IF) is probably not a good idea for the 30-40% of the American population that is already obese. 

Alternatively can I put forward another suggestion?

There is some really good evidence on the use of (IF) and yes it does help improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels.  This is mainly due to the fact that there just no food coming in, it makes perfect sense physiologically. No carbs in and your sugar levels reduce – its not rocket science! There has been multiple studies to show that the weight loss outcome from (IF) dieting and continuos dieting are much the same anyway. Let me show you how to scale back this idea back slightly so it’s not so hard. 

Introduce calorie cycling for 2-3 days per week for non consecutive days. The idea is not to fast entirely just so you don’t up regulate “fat” genes if you do have them. Lower your calories to 900kcal, for a couple of days a week.  Then bluster it back up to a weight maintenance intake on non cycle days. That way you’re not starving, maintaining a heightened metabolism and still losing weight. I’ve tested calorie cycling with the weight loss program I wrote for That’s life body blast magazine. We had thousands of people on the program for 4 weeks. The program had 2 cycle days and I used gourmet food. So far great results some women reporting 6-8kg weight loss on the forums, which is huge!

I admit I didn’t expect it to work that well. The program ended this week. Ill let you know the exact figures on weight loss program when I have them, stay tuned. 

There has been a new study published last week claiming that once again the Mediterranean diet to be the most effective weight loss diet, great for over all health and longevity. Look out for my post on that. 

Have you tried (IF) let me know your thoughts?

Parasailing

Every so often I like to try doing new things just for fun. This past weekend was a testament to that. I decide to go parasailing. I guess it’s not part of my typical Sunday morning routine. 

                                                               This is me flying high 

Parasailing is found under the “extreme sport “ category, but hopefully I will convince your that everyone can do it. i It’s actually quite tame and a really enjoyable experience. It defiantly doesn’t involve any kind of exertion anyway!

Parasailing was never on my bucket list however after receiving a Redballoon voucher from work for winning the “step challenge” I thought it sounded like fun. I chose to fly with the folks at Manly Parasail, who were fantastic. A very friendly crew who took time to accommodate for their passengers. 

To parasail you must were a life jacket, and harness. You clip into the sail from the boat deck and whala! Your quickly hoisted into the air smoothly. 

                                                                  Getting clipped in 

When your at the length of the rope and gliding along, it’s actually quite peaceful. Perfect blue skies and a 360degree view of Sydney harbor, what more could you want?

                                                               The view from above 

When they ask if you “want to get wet”, say yes and enjoy the fun. Getting wet means they slow the boat down, so your parasail drops you into the water. There’s no free falling, you gently glide to the water surface till your legs scrape along. It’s actually quiet refreshing, and your not there long enough to be eaten by sharks! haha

                                                                         Splash!

Your up in the air for about 10minutes, however your on the boat watching fellow participants go up one at a time or tandem. Everyone is friendly and cheers each other on. Take lots of pictures to make your friends and family jealous. 

                                                      Getting pulled back into the boat

So if your looking for something different and fun to do over the weekend, try parasailing. Guaranteed 60min of fun and adventure, beats your typical Sunday any day!

Sydney Half Marathon Pledge

One thing I can’t stand is hearing people make empty promises. Even worse I hate hearing myself rabbit on and on about commitment, then I come out with the “should of, could of would of”. Over the past few years, I made a promise to myself that if I think about something over 3 separate occasions or verbalize a “I want to” I have to do it- period!

Just this weekend I told 4 separate people that i should do a half marathon . Might I add I did also put it in my bucket list for this year. Do you remember?

Quite frankly the issue is,  I am scared. Yes scared! It is going to hurt so much. No doubt i’m going to be bored of running at the 15km mark. Some times you have to do things you don’t like, so you can say “well at least I tried” and you can live to tell the tale. 

So I pledge to do the Sydney Half marathon on the 19th of May. It’s going to be 21km of pure hell! 

So now it’s time to sort out the training regime for the next 3 weeks, drop a few pounds and buy some sports gels. Look out for my running post on how to prepare for a half marathon in just under 3 weeks...

Godspeed-  Eeep!

Food addict

You may think your going crazy, you may even be frustrated with yourself. Your trying to lose weight and improve your health but, you feel like your addicted to food. All you do all day is think about the next meal, and what’s for lunch. 

Well you may not be as crazy as you think

It has long been known that food affects the body’s hormone levels and gene expression in different ways. For example eating carbohydrate food affects your hormone insulin levels, which promotes fat storing functions. Did you know that food can also affect your mood and eating behaviours? 

Food can be addictive  

In particular food that contain high levels of fat, sugar and salt. Even though we live in a modern world our evolutionary genes haven’t yet caught up. Our cave man genes are primed to seek foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt so we can adequately nourish ourselves for survival. Foods that contain either of these 3 powerful elements trigger the Limbic centres in the brain. 

The Limbic centre is often called the old emotional brain. It’s the centre that associates with pleasure and reward. Eating foods that are high is fat, sugar and salt are pleasurable, or else we wouldn’t eat them! 

When ever we eat foods that we love, the  neurotransmitter dopamine is released  in the brain. Dopamine is a happy chemical, usually associated with cocaine use. Food actually stimulates the exact parts of the brain that recreational illicit drugs do. We all know cocaine and heroine is addictive right? Put two and two together, that’s why your junk food is too!  

Recently it has been shown that in obese people merely the sight or smell of food activates this part of the brain more so than in normal weight individuals. They actually have stronger hunger levels, food craving and salvia production in reaction to food. Mind blowing stuff, literally! 

Read about this an interesting study involving ice cream and the brain  

Now you can see why obese individuals have such a tough job losing weight and keeping it off. This also helps explain why dieting is so hard. Removing food you love can make you feel sad, less motivated and deprived. This is re-enforced by ancient genes that are telling you to hurry up and eat for survival.

I guess the problem wouldn’t be nearly as bad, if we didn’t have so much food available all the time like we do. You can’t even travel 1km with out finding a fast food join, café or supermarket. Food is every where, heck you can’t even watch TV without being reminded to eat your favourite chocolate bar during the adds. 

Is it a lost cause? Well not quite… 

Even though the odds are against us, there are individuals and groups who lose extreme amounts of weight and keep it off. We see this all the time. Let me remind you of the Jerad the Subway guy, the reality TV hit The biggest loser  and countless weight watchers participants 

That’s just a few examples, I bet you could even rattle off a few names of people you personally know who have lost weight and kept it off. 

What’s the secret?

If it’s the brain that got you into this mess, it’s the brain that has to get you out! Research has shown there are common factors when it comes to those who keep weight off, these as just a few:  

1. Tracking: This means tracking body weight or tracking food intake
2. Strong social support net works: People close to you provide comfort and encouragement.
3. The exercise regularly
4. Their diet is consistent through out weekend and weekdays, this means no “cheat” meals!  

Here’s a few tips on how to over come your primary food addictions to get you started on your weight loss journey: 

Practice controlled restraint : Like any other addict substance, there has to be a  period of controlled abstinence. You have to practice not giving into cravings immediately. Acknowledging the feeling of having a craving then trying distraction methods or a relayed response is needed. With the aim of lengthen the duration in which you respond to cravings. This will weaken them, hopefully so much so that you can hold out and not give in at all.

Use a behavioural substitution method : This means that when you experience a craving get busy and distract your mind. You can not physically think about two things at once  even though women like to think they can, it's almost impossible. Do something that is brain taxing so you forget about food and get engrossed in your activity till the craving passes.

Remove the stimulus : Are you getting cravings because a situation triggers it off? Often with smokers a stressful situation triggers of the urge to light up. This could be the same for your food. Find out what trips you up? Maybe it’s reading glossy magazines that have images of skinny models that makes you feel in adequate. Maybe is the travel route we take to work, having to walk past the cake shop? What ever it is do your best on managing these triggers. 

Address reoccurring mental schemas : Mental schemas are recurring thought processes we run. What are your schemas saying? Do you call yourself a fat, lazy slob? We don’t even realise these thoughts dictate our state of mind and mood throughout the day. If I was continuously being called fat and lazy, I’d give up and eat cake to make myself feel better too! 

Balance eating : Dieting and imbalanced eating will cause you to eventually binge on the foods you love. If your addicted to highly salted chips, sugar or chocolate, I have no doubt that the first chance you have to over indulge after follow a stringent diet plan you will. The trick is not to diet.. I know I know how are your supposed to lose weight without being on a diet?  

Very easily the world diet is just the word “die” with a T at the end. There is a difference between making better food choices and still enjoying food in a controlled manner, than drinking meal replacement shakes all day. A healthy eating plan with a variety of foods you enjoy in a portion controlled manner is the key. If you need help doing this get in touch with me I can help you out.

So you still think you have a food addiction after reading this post? Take this food addiction pop quiz.   This one is nice and quick, the questions have been derived from the original Yale University food addiction survey. To see the original click here 

Blink

Snap judgements and decisions are often looked at negatively in modern society. We are taught through eduction, especially in science degrees at university to gather more information before drawing to a conclusion. What if i where to tell you these snap judgements and first impressions are often accurate?

Sound a bit counter intuitive, but is it really?

I have just completed listening to my 12th audio book this year. I spend a lot of time in traffic and what a better way to make use of this dead space? If you haven’t discovered pod casts or audio books yet, get on to it. Like I said 12 books and it’s only April, that is an amazing way to keep your brain educated and learning. 

The book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell had me so intrigued I had to share it with you. Malcolm Gladwell by the way is one of the best writers I have stumbled upon. He has also authored the book The tipping point and Outliers. Both books present highly researched theories on human behavior. The tipping point explains the social phenomena of how trends and fads come to be. Outliers is a book about what makes people successful or different. Now you have three potential books  to get your paws on!

Now back to Blink...

I loved Blink because I am a self proclaimed “good judge of character”. Often stating that I can tell when a person is genuine or if there’s something shady about them. So far my snap judgements have been more than accurate, they are a self for filling prophecy. 

Well it turns out there’s something in that...

Malcolm collates together research from all over the world. The research suggests that our snap judgments specifically within the first 2 seconds of meeting some one is often 90% accurate. The length of time spent with that person often decreases our accuracy. 

How strange? You would think that the opposite to be true naturally, but apparently it’s not? 

You see the human brain is very clever. Through out our lives we collect pieces of information from every where. We end up with the ability to predict or have a hunch of what should happen next. For example if we decide to go to a picnic at a park, we would find it normal to see trees, maybe see a dog or a bird. We associate all kinds of things with parks. Our brain can develop a mental image within micro seconds of what a park should look and smell like. In addition to this what type events that may occur in a park, this due to past experiences. This is a mental schema. 

The same thing happens in other events or when you meet some one new. Let’s look at the example of a first date or work meeting where you have never met this person before.  Have you noticed that upon meeting that new person you already have a feeling about if you like them OR if the meeting is going to gel or not. 

Within a blink of an eye (less than 2 seconds) your brain has questioned various things and made associations :

• What are they wearing? Are they are wearing a suit or jeans? That means they may be neat and tidy, organized, professional, casual, laid back etc
• If they are neatly groomed? They take pride in themselves, good hygiene, live in a wealthy or poor area etc
• If their hand shake is firm? They may be weak, confident or nervous etc 

There are thousands of other associations made in that micro period of time in our sub-conscious, that we aren’t even aware of. However we stand there thinking... Yup this is going to be “LONG AND BORING” or on the flip side “THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN” !

Whats the down side of solely relying on snap judgements? 

Well some times we are wrong... yes we are human we are allowed to be wrong! in those cases your brain schemas have let you down, but thats ok because rarely do we have to make decisions within 2seconds. 

Professionally speaking though, the higher your expertise due to sheer time studying and being in a familiar environment the more accurate you will become. Take for example a doctor who spends 90% of their day working with patients in emergency situations. You would be glad to know the more time spent working, the more accurate their snap judgements become. This is because the brain develops more known possibilities and schemas.  

The take home message for me was...

If you feel something is a miss when meeting some one professionally or socially, it usually is. In a situation where you can’t just walk away for various social reasons, it means tread carefully and keep a safe distance. Intuition goes along way in life, so don’t second guess yourself. 

Hope I convinced you to spend some worth while time investigating further into this book or any other of Malcom’s fabulous reads. If you have read this book what did you think? Would love to hear your review!